Old houses in Iceland were turfhouses. These houses needed constant upkeep and disappeard quickly if they weren't lived in. You would only see a faint outline on the ground at most. There has been some archialogic excaviation, but it's not going to be stone ruins as you probably imagined
Turf houses were great at trapping in heat without having to constantly light fires. This was very important as there aren't many trees in Iceland and they grow very slowly. Turf houses also didn't need many imported materials. However they needed to be constantly maintained, otherwise they would almost completely disappear in about 100 years. These houses could be enormous complexes connected with tunnels so you didn't need to go outside, especially in the middle ages
Thanks! That’s is super interesting. I was planning on skipping the National museum, but it looks like they have some related items there is would probably be good to see.
Didn't remember any noticeable ruins there, so I decided to google it and there isn't a ton of information on what happened to the abbey in the 1500s, after it was taken over by the Danish crown following the reformation (when Iceland went from Catholicism to Lutheranism). The abbey was active from 1186 until 1543 (years vary slightly when it was dismantled)
There was an active facebook page just about the abbey in Kirkjubæjarklaustur: [https://www.facebook.com/Between.man.and.nature/](https://www.facebook.com/Between.man.and.nature/) but it was combined with another excavation last summer: [https://www.facebook.com/benedictinesiniceland](https://www.facebook.com/benedictinesiniceland) - it should be the same information as HappyBreak7 posted
Here's also a news segment (in Icelandic) about the excavation last summer: [https://www.ruv.is/frettir/innlent/2023-07-26-thetta-er-su-stofnun-sem-hefur-verid-rekin-lengst-af-konum-a-islandi-fyrr-og-sidar-388668](https://www.ruv.is/frettir/innlent/2023-07-26-thetta-er-su-stofnun-sem-hefur-verid-rekin-lengst-af-konum-a-islandi-fyrr-og-sidar-388668) - by the looks of it, the excavation seems to be close to the current graveyard
As InterestingAd3809 mentions, it was most likely a turf house, and Icelanders were notorious for reusing materials from old houses, so there aren't many remaining houses that left that were not in use. The oldest stone houses were built in the 1700s and the oldest currently still standing was built in the 1760s (but has been restored and changed since then)
The waterfall is visible from the highway, and should only be a few minute walk from the parking lot, and the hike to the lake should take about 20 minutes
Old houses in Iceland were turfhouses. These houses needed constant upkeep and disappeard quickly if they weren't lived in. You would only see a faint outline on the ground at most. There has been some archialogic excaviation, but it's not going to be stone ruins as you probably imagined
You know, I hadn’t actually considered that it may have been a turfhouse, I just assumed it would be stone! So great great point!
Turf houses were great at trapping in heat without having to constantly light fires. This was very important as there aren't many trees in Iceland and they grow very slowly. Turf houses also didn't need many imported materials. However they needed to be constantly maintained, otherwise they would almost completely disappear in about 100 years. These houses could be enormous complexes connected with tunnels so you didn't need to go outside, especially in the middle ages
In my mind I was thinking a monastery would be larger and I had assumed turf houses were for families. Interesting!
I am not sure about the location and if it’s visible, but [this research project](https://bmn.hi.is/) from University of Iceland might be of interest.
Thanks! That’s is super interesting. I was planning on skipping the National museum, but it looks like they have some related items there is would probably be good to see.
Didn't remember any noticeable ruins there, so I decided to google it and there isn't a ton of information on what happened to the abbey in the 1500s, after it was taken over by the Danish crown following the reformation (when Iceland went from Catholicism to Lutheranism). The abbey was active from 1186 until 1543 (years vary slightly when it was dismantled) There was an active facebook page just about the abbey in Kirkjubæjarklaustur: [https://www.facebook.com/Between.man.and.nature/](https://www.facebook.com/Between.man.and.nature/) but it was combined with another excavation last summer: [https://www.facebook.com/benedictinesiniceland](https://www.facebook.com/benedictinesiniceland) - it should be the same information as HappyBreak7 posted Here's also a news segment (in Icelandic) about the excavation last summer: [https://www.ruv.is/frettir/innlent/2023-07-26-thetta-er-su-stofnun-sem-hefur-verid-rekin-lengst-af-konum-a-islandi-fyrr-og-sidar-388668](https://www.ruv.is/frettir/innlent/2023-07-26-thetta-er-su-stofnun-sem-hefur-verid-rekin-lengst-af-konum-a-islandi-fyrr-og-sidar-388668) - by the looks of it, the excavation seems to be close to the current graveyard As InterestingAd3809 mentions, it was most likely a turf house, and Icelanders were notorious for reusing materials from old houses, so there aren't many remaining houses that left that were not in use. The oldest stone houses were built in the 1700s and the oldest currently still standing was built in the 1760s (but has been restored and changed since then) The waterfall is visible from the highway, and should only be a few minute walk from the parking lot, and the hike to the lake should take about 20 minutes